Cessna 172S Skyhawk, G-SHSP and Enstrom 480, G-LADZ

Summary:

The pilot had just refuelled G-SHSP. The parking brake was off during the refuelling and remained off whilst the engine was started. For the engine start, the pilot stated that he held his feet on the rudder pedals and toe brakes. Once the engine was running, the pilot completed the engine-start-checklist items before noticing that the aircraft was moving forward. He applied further pressure to the pedals but the aircraft continued to move so he repositioned his feet and reapplied pressure to the brake pedals. The aircraft responded immediately but only came to a stop as it collided with G-LADZ which was parked 20 metres from the refuelling location. Both wing leading edges of the aircraft and the rear fuselage and fin of the helicopter were damaged. The pilot stated that his first reaction had been to apply the brakes in the way he was used to from his relatively longer experience of flying Piper PA-28 aircraft rather than the Cessna C150 or C172. Both types referred to above each have toe brakes as part of the rudder pedal installation. However, the assemblies differ slightly in that the Piper has rudder pedal pads for rudder control with toe brake pedals above, and attached to, the rudder pedals, whereas the Cessna uses a one-piece pedal.